How to Clean a Car Battery

By gary malec & john grassi

gary malec & john grassi

Gary Malec and John Grassi rebuild cars and boats, do household handyman work, and build computers.

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When cleaning a car battery, a simple mixture of baking soda and water can help to neutralize the acid buildup on the battery terminals. Find out how to clean a car battery with a toothbrush and a hose by following the instructions of car restoration specialists in this free video on car maintenance.

Video transcription

Keeping a car's battery clean is very important. A dirty car battery could cause hard starting and possibly leave you stranded on the side of the road. A simple mixture of household baking soda and water works wonders on neutralizing the acid often built up on the battery terminals. Here I have a little baking soda, added water to it in my cup. Not much, you want it to be very pasty. Here I'm pouring the solution onto the battery. Not too much, just enough, you'll see it start bubbling. Here you can see the baking soda neutralizing the acid that's built up on the battery terminal. Now just take your old toothbrush and give it a good scrubbing. You can use the solution to clean the whole rest of your battery. It will degrease it as well. Once you've cleaned the battery, simply take a garden hose and rinse it off to get all the residue off. A clean battery is great preventative maintenance.